I showed my ignorance big-time when suggesting on screen that pure honey was anything else than pure honey. Anyway, I think I made up for it with this impressive take on an immortal British classic.
Although only a small amount of fresh lavender is called for, it will make all the difference to the end result so don’t be tempted to lose lavender. Once you’ve used a couple of flowers, leave the remaining bunch sitting in a jar on your kitchen counter. It will look and smell fantastically French. Serves four

Method

Place the apricots in a small saucepan with the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of honey. Place on a medium heat and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the apricots have broken down to a runny compote. You might need to add a little bit more water if the apricots start sticking to the pan. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Place the cake in a bowl, pour over the liqueur and use your hands to gently toss the cake so that all the liquid is absorbed.
Put the walnuts in a bowl with the remaining half a tablespoon of honey and half of the lavender petals. Stir and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, crème fraiche, mascarpone and icing sugar. Once well combined, set aside.
Place some of the sponge at the bottom of 4 individual glass bowls. Spoon some cream on top, followed by some of the compote and then the nuts. Repeat this layering process once more for each portion, drizzle over the remaining honey and sprinkle with the remaining lavender petals.

Reviews

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Katalin(23/08/2014)It is quite nice, but didn't wow me though. The best part of it is the ricotta filling, and the amaretto in the cake is delicious. The downside was the apricot compote, which was a bit lacking in intensity, even though I bought locally produced ones. So it is not the recipe's fault, maybe just apricots never going to taste as great in England as in some other countries. It is really quick to make. My biggest issue was how to assemble it, because after chopping up the madeira cake to the required sizes, it wasn't really possible to layer it. Rather awkward. So I'm not sure whether this recipe was tried.

Shopa wonderful treat!

sara(26/01/2014)this is a triumph! the lavender is such a delicate flavour and compliments the honey and apricot so well - it looks beautiful too. it is lighter than the average trifle as ricotta lifts the marscapone so it's not too rich, the perfect dessert!